Japanese Showa Two Panel Screen Blossoming Prunus Tree

Colorful Asian two panel byobu screen featuring a blossoming prunus tree with a songbird perched on its branch. Vibrant ink and color pigments applied to a golden silk ground. The pa...

Exquisite mid-20th century Showa period four panel folding byobu screen featuring a fruiting pomegranate tree over a dramatic cream toned background. Vivid ink and natural pigment co...

Cherry Blossoms Kano Sanrakuki (1898-1981) Showa period, circa 1930 2-panel Japanese Screen Color, gofun and gold leaf on paper Against a backdrop of gold-leafed ground, the lichen covered trunk and branches of the life-sized cherry blossom tree reach out and beyond the confines of the pictorial surface. The overall composition has a feeling of flatness which draws emphasis to the surface and the three-dimensionality of the cherry blossoms. Painstakingly built-up layers of thickly applied shell-white gofun detail the voluminous blossoms and cover large areas of this tour-de-force of Japanese Nihonga painting. By simplifying the background, minimizing the number of colors and depicting the blossoms with such heavy relief, the artist has emphasized the stunning presence of the cherry tree. The type of tree depicted is the Yae-Zakura; a double-layered type of cherry blossom famed for its beauty and strength. When we think of Japanese cherry blossoms, the first thing that comes to mind is Somei Yoshino variety, which has a single flower with five almost white petals. This type is fragile and easily blown away by strong wind or rain. Most of the double-flowered cherry blossoms begin to bloom when the Somei-Yoshino falls, and the flowering period lasts longer than that of the Somei-Yoshino. Kano Sanrakuki originally studied painting at the Kyoto City Arts and Crafts School under the tutelage of Yamamoto Shunkyo...

In Japanese tradition, the plum tree is the first to bloom in late winter, its fragile white flowers defying the cold. It symbolizes perseverance, renewal, and the quiet strength to...